


Our Journey towards the future

by Ian_MD



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Awkward Flirting, Comedy, Developing Friendships, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Fun, Hardships, High School, Light Character Study, Problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:53:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22242898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ian_MD/pseuds/Ian_MD
Summary: Hello everyone! This is a little side-story I have done for ShuMako week 2020!I had the idea to connect it to my main storyline so I could flesh out some details about the characters and moments within the main story (and maybe hint something along the way?).However, I did use all of the prompts laid out by the ShuMako week Twitter page (@shumakoweek), so the main themes will not be lost!Also, to be honest, I don't know if what I'm doing is qualified, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuttttttt... yeah. Smaller stories, baby!
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 6
Kudos: 60





	1. We gotta finish our homework, Ryuji

**Day 1 Prompt - Study Partners/Confession**

**August 30th - 7:30. P.M.  
** **Café Leblanc**

"Awww, it's no use!" Ryuji protested loudly, which got him a few stares from the customers. Ren elbowed him lightly. The two second-years and their senpai gathered at Leblanc to finish their summer homework, much to the blonde's dismay. He was the one that called Ren to help him, but he didn't expect Makoto to tag along. Not only that, after a while, he just didn't want to study all-together.

"Not so loud, man." The frizzy-haired boy commented. He turned to the customers. "I apologize, everyone. It's been a rough week for this guy." The pompous male customer simply scoffed, the old couple smiled and the young couple embarrassedly smiled. Sojiro sighed from the counter but returned to his business.

"Ryuji, you have to realize that homework is a student's duty. Complaining about it won't make it go away." Makoto said seriously, looking up from her notes. "Don't forget that school starts in two days. We can't afford to slack off."

"I get that! What annoys me is that we won't be usin' most of this stuff anywhere in real life, so it's tiresome!" The dyed blonde complained, putting his hands on his forehead. Then he grumbled. "Lucky Ann. Had that photoshoot of hers…"

"She's at a disadvantage, actually." The gray-eyed boy replied. "Knowing how she is, she'll have to do everything last-minute and panic. I won't be able to help because Futaba asked me to leave tomorrow free…" He explained with worry. Makoto gave him a small smile as she analyzed his features. His expression had become closed, furrowed eyebrows and a frown. It was his signature worry expression that she’d come to observe.

"You seem worried. Are you afraid of Ann's management of student duties?" She observed gently, to which he smiled back at her. Ryuji noticed his expression, too, but it took him quite a while to read his best friend. He thought nothing fazed him in the beginning. Now, he knew he hid it quite well. But Makoto knowing that, too? THAT was interesting! And something he could use in real life! ...okay, he just wanted to have an excuse not to do his homework.

"Yeah. Well, not just for her, but for everyone's management. The more we adhere to society's norms, the less everyone will stay on our toes." He explained to the two. Ryuji gave him a weird stare, feeling that that sentence had something wrong with it. The red-eyed girl didn't seem to mind, though.

"That doesn't seem really rebellious to me." He commented with confusion. The leader of the Phantom Thieves smiled.

"There's a time and place to be rebellious. if we are rebellious against our school, they'll just kick us out and we'll be completely screwed over." The Fool replied sadly. "I just don't want any of us to get into any deeper trouble that could complicate our lives. That's all." He admitted, a rare instance on his part. The Chariot was surprised, as was the Priestess, who smiled.

"That's extremely caring of your part, Ren-kun, and I can relate." She shared with happiness. "However, I think we'll be fine. If you'd like, I'll be more active in helping keep everyone in check, starting with Ann tomorrow." She offered to her leader, as she had helped the girl with her homework a few days ago. The runner felt a small chill on his spine since she was already pretty rigid with him, but he knew it was for the better. Especially considering the point his best friend explained, which was obvious, but he hadn't thought about it.

The gray-eyed boy looked at her with widened eyes. "But, Makoto, what about your presidential duties? Won't this get in the way?" He asked with worry. And, of course, Ren would worry more about others than himself.

She giggled as Ryuji, unbeknownst to them, watched the two with a smirk. He could almost read them both like an open book, these two lovebirds. "Council duties have been slow lately, and I want to enhance more of my social life. Please, let me help you." She offered with a huge smile. The Trickster stopped to think.

"Okay. But on one condition." He replied, to which she replied with a "you name it". "You'll call me every time you need help with any major council problems. Is that okay with you?"

The headband girl thought for a few moments and then nodded. "Okay. I accept."

"We have a deal then!" He said happily, shaking her hand. "However, we have to finish our homework first and foremost. So, Ryuji, what were you having trouble with?" He said, switching to a more commanding tone, focusing on his best friend as the third-year smiled and returned to her notes.

This made the blonde snap out of his thoughts. "H-huh? Oh, oh, yeah…" He said with confusion. He wasn't expecting Ren to switch topics so quickly, especially since he was caught up in a line of thought. One that involved his leader and, now, maybe vice leader? He was sure his best friend would bring this up in the next meeting, but that wasn't what intrigued the runner.

What intrigued him was how close his best friend and advisor were. He knew they were hanging out, but he felt that the chemistry between them was already as high as Ren and Ann's, which was impressive. He could tell Renren had a crush on Makoto, and he could see why. She was a badass that was also smart and cute. He knew this was all of his Leader's preferences rolled up into one girl. And he could tell she was into him, too. Her type was someone responsible, strong and caring, which described Ren pretty well. As said boy helped him in his studies, he noticed that their senpai looked in his friend's direction from time to time, as did he. The runner smirked but tried not to make it obvious. He would tease them about it when the time was right.

_'They're dancin' around each other, testin' the waters. Heh! One day they'll have their ball and, if I have to, it'll be one I'll run across the world to see!_


	2. Welcome to my house, Ann

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is my work for ShuMako week day 2!  
> Ann goes over to the Niijma residence to have a sleepover with Makoto. They chat happily until the topic changes and Makoto's insecurities shine through...

**Day 2 - Sleepover/Dreaming**

**August 25th - 8:28 P.M.  
Niijima Apartment**

"Where is that damn document?" Sae Niijima asked herself, roaming through folders and folders of documents. She needed these in specific so she could further investigate the mental shutdown cases. If it all went well, she could finally have her well-deserved promotion. This was the only thing in her mind at the moment. She didn't even notice that her sister was over an hour late. That is until she heard the door open, which triggered her fight or flight instinct. "Makoto?" She immediately asked, preparing herself if it was an intruder.

"I'm home, Sis!" Makoto's sweet voice called from the door. It made the Prosecutor calm down and even smile. Even though she didn't pay much attention to her nowadays, she still deeply loved her sister.

"Welcome back, Makoto. How was your day?" She asked sweetly.

“It was fine! But I could I quickly talk to you about tomorrow?” The third-year replied gently. The oldest sister gave a small sigh.

“Of course. But only if you help me find a document.” She proposed, to which her sister replied with a ‘hm!’. She heard her footsteps as she got closer… but, wait… there weren’t _only_ her footsteps...

“I brought a guest home, Sis!” The youngest Niijima sister announced as she came into the room, her natural blonde friend following suit.

“Hello! Sorry for barging in…” Ann said apologetically, to which Sae dismissively waved. While the second-year was a little afraid to meet the oldest Niijima sister, she had to admit; she had a mysterious charm to her… she was beautiful. Makoto and Sae’s parents had good genes!

“It’s fine. Another pair of hands will help us find that document quickly.” The prosecutor declared confidently as both girls got to help her. They were normal police documents, even though the case was related to the Phantom Thieves, so neither teenager got weary. They quickly found it. Sae thanked the two for their help, talked with her sister about the next day and left, saying she’d only return the next day. Makoto got to preparing Ann’s futon in her bedroom as the blonde sat on the sofa and organized her own baggage. She wanted to help her best friend to organize her futon, but was denied action… bummer. Well, while she got her own stuff sorted out, she thought about tomorrow and the Niijima household. Tomorrow, they were going to find a swimsuit for Futaba to go to the beach. It didn’t mean she _needed_ to sleep here, per se, but she wanted to spend time with her friend. She also needed some help with her homework… She shook her head. The apartment was pretty comfy. It had a nice space and felt comfortable. So well-organized, too! Definitely belonged to Makoto and her sister.

…which was a very intimidating woman! Her eyes reminded her of Joker’s when on a mission, only… that looked stayed on her face all the time instead of being there for a specific situation… “Ann?” Makoto’s voice called out, interrupting her friend’s line of thought. She smiled, picked up her baggage and went to her room for the night. When she got there, the first thought to pop into her head was _‘This looks more like her room than I imagined!’_. Everything was neatly organized into its respective places: the complex books were aligned properly in the bookshelves, a plain-looking laptop, her well-preserved schoolbag, a calligraphy piece that said “Heart”, and… “Oh my gosh, you have Buchimaru-kun merchandise?!” The Lovers asked with awe in her voice and stars in her eyes as she looked at the children’s mascot in many corners of her friend’s room. The third-year gave a small whimper.

“Y-yes…” She replied simply with red cheeks. She didn’t expect her best friend to make such a fuss about it…

“That’s so cute!” The model replied, looking over her friend’s room some more before starting the homework. She looked at the books. “Wow, those books look… hard.” She commented as her advisor nodded.

“They are in the beginning, but once you get accustomed to the terms used, they become much easier to understand.” She explained, reminiscing on her knowledge and past dream. The blonde nodded, looking over these books until something caught the corner of her eye. She looked down to the right and smiled.

“You also have shoujo manga!” The quarter American said, beaming as her friend blushed once more. After many moments of Ann curiously going over her room, both started their homework, much to the blonde’s dismay. After some time doing what they had to, they stopped for a quick coffee break and to chat.

“You know, we probably shouldn’t be drinking coffee at this hour of the night.” Ann commented to her friend, who was at the counter preparing their drinks. She giggled.

“You don’t need to drink it if you don’t want to. I’m only making it because I’m so used to drinking coffee now. It doesn’t make me energetic, but it helps me focus.” She replied, to which the blonde stopped to think with a pout.

“Hm… okay! I guess I’ll just have some water then.” She said as the Priestess nodded, getting her friend her water and going over to the table with her cup. She sat down in front of her friend and took a sip. The model smirked, which the advisor noticed. “What?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that you look just like Ren right now.” She said teasingly, making circles on the table with her finger. Her friend looked confused.

“W-what do you mean?” She asked curiously as the sexy girl giggled.

“You learned to appreciate coffee from him, right? You do it the same way; the hand gestures, how you make it, heck, even how you drink it! I could put a Ren mask on you and you’d be him!”

“…wouldn’t the body be different, though?” Makoto asked innocently, to which the blonde gave a small laugh.

“Yeah. Though I don’t think Ren would complain about having breasts.” Ann joked, but the third-year didn’t laugh. Instead, she looked down at her chest. “Hm? Did I say something wrong?” The second-year asked with concern, to which her teammate looked up in shock.

“O-oh, no! You didn’t!” She assured, looking to the side with embarrassment. “I-it’s just…” She started but didn’t continue. Her friend was confused until she put two and two together. She then looked at the red-eyed girl with an “are you serious” expression. Said red-eyed girl noticed her friend staring at her. “W-what?”

“Makoto, Makoto… do you really think you have small breasts?” The blue-eyed girl said, making her friend even redder. “You do! Aw, you’re so cute!” She played, pinching her friend’s cheeks.

“W-why…? Don’t boys prefer…?” The nuclear-user asked, lightly trying to get herself away from the grasp of Ann’s long fingers.

The fire-user shook her head. “I can’t lie and say no, as a lot of them do.” She started, holding the Priestess’ hands. “However, it isn’t about just the breasts. Sometimes it’s about the butt. About the hips." The nuclear-user was getting redder and redder, but also sadder... "But most guys that have good taste know that it’s about how it all looks together.” The fire-user explained with sincerity, making her friend look her in the eyes. “You’re a really beautiful young woman, Makoto. It doesn’t matter that your breasts aren’t the size of melons! All that matters is that they’re yours and they look beautiful in you!” She explained happily to the hopeless romantic in front of her. She knew why the girl worried about that now, especially considering since she didn't just a little while ago.

Makoto’s face was as red as her eyes as she intently listened to her beautiful friend. She never managed to talk about this issue with anyone, much less her sister. It was… embarrassing to talk about her body, but she trusted her quarter American friend with this subject, as she had her experiences with this subject, as bad as they were. Now that she stopped to think about it, it never bothered her before... yet she had to talk about it at some point, right? Maybe it was an attempt to try and fight back against her ignorance. She suddenly found herself becoming very self-conscious about her body, but not because people were staring… but… why was she self-conscious…? Did she _want_ to be stared? No, that wasn’t it… was there someone, in particular, she…? “T-thank you, Ann… I really don’t know what to say…”

“Don’t say anything! Just take the compliment, you sexy badass!” She cheered her friend, which made her smile. She felt… sexy. She felt a lot of confidence. “You’ll see when we’re in the beach in four days!” She declared, to which the third-year nodded.

“O-okay… I’ll try and keep my confidence from now intact until then.” She said. “Thank you. I-I think I needed to hear that… though I still need to come to terms with what you said…”

“It’s okay! It took me quite a while to accept my own body as well.” The second-year replied seriously, but cheerfully. Her past experiences wouldn't make her sulk when her friend needed her help! “You’ll see! There’ll be at least one guy looking at you like you’re that Egyptian or Greek goddess!”

“Y-you mean Bastet or Aphrodite?” The third-year replied.

“Yeah! Those ones!”

“A-as much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, Ann, you’re making me feel self-conscious again…” Makoto replied, to which Ann groaned. She had an idea, then. She got the girl’s mind out of the subject by asking her about her favorite stories with deities. They happily chatted and read shoujo manga until they had to sleep, and the model noted that Makoto did focus on the subjects even faster with the coffee. She was happy for the girl, and she knew why she acted this way. She was in love with Ren. It was in the early stages, but hey, who could blame her? Ann herself had somewhat fallen for her leader. It was hard not to fall for such a handsome fellow. However… even though she felt that way, she felt like Ren himself was falling for Makoto. Which meant that she would have to- ah, no way! None of that love triangle bullcrap! If she noticed that Ren wasn’t romantically interested in her, she’d make damn sure he would be happy with his love life. After all, you can love someone and not be dating them!

* * *

**August 29 th – 4:27 P.M.  
Beach**

Makoto couldn’t believe it. What Ann had said was true! There was someone that was looking at her body!

And… it was…

Ren-kun?!

Off in the distance, Ryuji turned to Ann, who, after a few days of thinking, decided to support Ren and Makoto with all of her heart. “Hey.”

“Yeah?” She replied happily, taking a sip of coconut water.

“I think Renren’s into Makoto.” He teased with a smirk, attempting to surprise his blonde friend, though she just smiled back to him.

“Oh, you too?” She asked casually, which made him smirk. So she already knew, then! Made it easier to talk about it.

“When do you think they’ll tell one another?” He asked excitedly, to which she put her hands on her chin.

The model then looked at the team Leader and advisor as both played volleyball one vs one. They were smiling and being competitive as always. She noticed during the breaks, both kept looking at each other. A little on the body and a lot on the faces. “It’ll take a while, but they’ll get there in their own way. You’ll see!”

She was also sure because of a chat the two had the day they went out to get Futaba’s swimsuit:

* * *

**August 26 th – 7:03 A.M.  
Makoto’s room**

_Makoto yawned and stretched, attempting to wake herself up. She looked to the side, where her friend's futon lay, and saw that Ann was thrown in it. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were in a weird mix of in her body and not in her body... it was impressive, really. It looked like the descriptions some of her classmates had of boys in bed. Wait... boys...? Didn't she just have a dream where... She heard the model groan and turn around._

_"Good morning, Ann!" The red-eyed girl greeted, to which the blue-eyed girl turned to her direction._

_"G-good m-m-morniiiinnngggg..." She replied, still half-asleep. The Priestess giggled, but stopped to try and remember... she knew she had a dream, but... what was it...? "Makoto...?" Her quarter American friend called, which made her turn to her._

_“Hey, Ann, I had this weird dream tonight…” She started, putting her hand on her chin._

_“Oh! What was it about?” The Lovers said excitedly, her sleepiness seemingly gone._

_“… I think I was here in my room... I was wearing my swimsuit and s-showing off to a boy…” She recalled, blushing. She did remember herself clearly in the dream, but... who was...?_

_“Ho-ho!”_

_“P-please, don’t tease me!”_

_“Okay, okay." Ann said, putting her hands up and standing up. "Do you at least remember what he looked like?”_

_Makoto closed her eyes.“…I think he had black hair… was a little taller than me… and he was_ really _handsome…”_

_Ann knew exactly who was in her best friend’s dream. The only description that was missing was the frizzy hair._

* * *

**August 29 th – 4:27 P.M.  
Beach**

“They’re both nearly sculpted, these two beautiful people. I’m sure they’ll come to terms with what they feel eventually. And I’ll be here to see them hook up!” She declared to her blonde friend, who smiled cockily as both took a sip of coconut water to the sight of their two best friends playing volleyball and teasing one another. She had been seeing both parties' infatuation with one another ever since Makoto joined the team back in June. Scratch that, even before that! Ren told her that he chatted with the Council President as she kept tabs on them, but in a friendly tone. At the time, she had no idea why he did that and was even pissed at him for being so reckless. Now, however, she knew what was going on. It was still reckless, but he had a crush on her back then. And now, both were in love with one another; Ren more so than Makoto, but she would have to realize soon enough.

_‘You’re both adorable people. If you don’t kiss, I’ll make damn sure to hit you both across the head... and then make you kiss!’_


	3. Let us show you some action, Haru

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is my work for ShuMako week day 3!  
> With the recent addition of the Beauty Thief, Haru "Noir" Okumura, to the team, and a new Palace to explore, Ren needs to make sure that she is ready to fight alongside everyone. He suggests a training session, to which everyone agrees. However, his and a certain red-eyed girl's competitive spirit kick in...

**Day 3 – Arsene & Johanna/Metaverse**

**September 23rd – 4:30 P.M.  
Shujin Academy – Class 2-C**

The rain droplets gently hit the windows and roof of the infamous Shujin Academy. Classes had just ended on this rainy day, much to the students’ happiness. With the recent passing of their director and the uncertainty of who would lead the school, the atmosphere was heavy for all students and teachers. The fear of what the Phantom Thieves really stood up for was also on everyone’s minds, so much so that rumors about the vigilante group were as dense and prominent as when they revealed themselves back in April.

This made Ren Amamiya, who just stood up from his chair, very nervous. The last few days were full of many odd events, but the most important one was the addition of a new team member: Haru Okumura. Daughter of Kunikazu Okumura, owner of the fast-food chain Big Bang Burger, she had a partial awakening with the company of Morgana and decided to put an end to her father’s abuse of his employees. After a few days of the Thieves trying to recruit her and talk to Morgana, both joined the team and the fluffy-haired girl finally fully awakened to her Persona; Milady. The leader of the PTs was impressed by her potential, but she needed training, especially considering that she used Psychic skills, a set of magic only he used up until now, along with Gun attacks. She also just learned Tetrakarn, a viable option in strategies for the team. He was sure that she could easily clean up hordes of enemies with proper training, especially considering her weapons: an axe on her left hand and a Grenade Launcher on her right.

The Trickster looked to the window. The rain calmed him a little. Its sounds made him feel like one with nature, in a way. He took a deep breath. He needed to sort out what to do for the next few days. Since his Confidant list was pretty short at the moment, he decided to see if his friends were up for some training. He sent a text to the chat.

* * *

**Ren:** Hey, everyone

**Ren:** I was thinking; since today is raining we could go to Mementos and train for a while

**Ren:** So we can prepare for this next Palace and get more acquainted with Haru

**Ren:** What do you think?

**Haru:** I would love to! I want to learn more about everyone’s fighting styles and hone my own!

**Makoto:** I was going to suggest that same idea right now. It seems like we had the same concern, Ren-kun.

**Ryuji:** Hell yeah! I wanna move! I’m feelin’ motivated to clear this Palace!

**Futaba:** Me too! I wanna speedrun the Palace and get an S rank on it!

**Yusuke:** I am curious to see what that man’s mind perceives of reality…

**Ann:** I’m in! Let’s make this “Haru’s training session: Part 1! Meeting the team!”

**Ren:** Morgana says he approves.

**Ren:** Be at the station by 5:00 P.M., everyone. We’ll have to use our time wisely from now on.

**Makoto:** Understood. Well, see you all in a few minutes!

* * *

Ren smiled. Makoto was opening up to the team more and more as time went on. He was always drawn to her, but he knew the others were afraid of her during Kaneshiro’s Palace, which was a problem, as a connection through fear wasn’t truly a bond. However, after his Palace, she started to make an effort to break down her wall of ignorance and become friends with everyone. Hell, she planned a Showtime with Ryuji, a guy who, in the beginning, only annoyed her with his attitude. He was glad he picked her as the analyzer, strategist and vice-leader of the Phantom Thieves. As he shook his head out of his nostalgia trip, he walked out of the classroom, hearing the whispers of the students about everything. They were starting to get under his skin, so he just closed his eyes, took another deep breath and continued onward. When he was about to go down the stairs, however, he heard a voice call his name.

“Ren-kun! Please, wait for a moment!” The soft voice said, not too loudly to garner attention. The Fool smiled. He always liked to talk to his crush. He turned around and saw the girl walking towards him, a smile present on her lips.

“Hello there!” He greeted, hoping she’d understand the reference. She stopped for a few seconds and then smirked.

“General Kenobi! You are a bold one.” The Priestess replied with a cocky smile, that nearly made the boy blush. Her confident side made him fall in love with her more and more, especially considering she tried to do a raspy voice. “Attempting to leave the school by yourself? You must realize that you cannot rid of me so easily!” She continued as he just watched her with a goofy smile. Now, he had a choice to make: would he play along? Or would he comment on her joke?

Aw, he was Joker, of course he’d play along!

“Oh, I don’t think so!” He replied, quickly turning around and going down the stairs, much to Morgana’s protests. He heard Queen’s playful ‘Hey!’ from upstairs, which only made him more motivated. He was getting a few weird stares from the students, but he couldn’t care less for them right now. He would take any chance to play with his love interest, especially if it made her feel better!

_‘He’s not getting away from me!’_ The red-eyed girl though playfully, making sure to not hit any students along the way as she pursued her best friend. They didn’t do this often, but when they did, she felt such happiness and acceptance that the fact that she was the student council president almost seemed meaningless to her. As she got to the base floor of the school and looked around, she saw the boy quickly take out his dark-blue umbrella from his pocket and open it. She quickly took her own umbrella without worry since his stood out from the sea of black umbrellas that the students used. Even though it didn’t stand out much, she had good eyesight. She ran outside and ran as fast as she could while making sure she wouldn’t slip. She felt almost as fast as Johanna in this weather!

Ren, meanwhile, felt all the happiness in the world. He felt like he was flying with Arsene’s wings, he was racing to the station without a care in the world and with his crush, nonetheless! He quickly looked back to see how far away she was (while ignoring Morgana’s protests), but couldn’t find her. Weird. Her umbrella was transparent and stood out like a sore thumb. He turned toward the station only to be greeted by a smug Makoto leaning in towards him. She was already in the station and had folded her umbrella. He let out a surprised gasp as she chuckled. “Hello, Ren-kun. It’s so nice to meet you here at the station!” She taunted as he approached her and folded his umbrella.

“Hello, Makoto. How did you get here so quickly?” He asked curiously. She giggled.

“I took a shortcut. Don’t forget that I have lived in Tokyo ever since I was born. I know the ins and outs of this area like the back of my hand.” The third-year proudly admitted to her confidant, who smiled.

“True, true. You win this round.” He said, walking beside her. “However, I think that, in regards to speed, I’m faster than you.” He declared confidently. She stopped to think for a moment as both went to the train.

“Perhaps… you do have longer legs than me, which gives you an advantage.” The red-eyed girl said. “However, I have been training for quite a while. That could give me a small advantage over you.” She declared with a smile. He smiled back.

“How about we test it out today? Before we train in the Metaverse, we have a race.” The gray-eyed boy offered. “How about it?” He asked again, offering her his open palm.

The Priestess felt that her competitive spirit was on fire today. Quite curious, considering rain made a lot of people feel lazier. She immediately took his hand and shook it. “You have a race.” She declared, pulling him along into the train. Both took it and, after arriving at Shibuya Station, went down the stairs.

* * *

**?.?.?.  
Mementos – Path of Kaitul**

“Are both contestants ready?!” Panther loudly and excitedly declared. Joker and Queen were both ready for their race; he was to the left, she was to the right of the track. “Don’t forget, from the start of the path to the end! We’ll be counting how much time you both take to get there!”

“No using Persona powers!” Oracle said from Necronomicon. Both nodded and lifted their masks up to their hair. The team had talked to José and taken out the Shadows on this floor, so they could race. “Also, if any of you start feeling super fatigued, just raise your hand and do a peace sign that I’ll come and pick you up!” She continued, showing Necronomicon’s tentacle claws. They both nodded and prepared.

Meanwhile, Skull turned to Fox. “Who do you think’ll win?” He asked. The artist analyzed both racers.

“I’m not sure. Both have remarkable speed. However, I believe that Joker has the advantage, due to his height.”

“Really? I think Queen has the edge.” The dyed blonde said. “She’s been trainin’ for so long, she might have more stamina than Joker.”

“I think it will end in a tie!” Noir chimed in. “If we consider what you both said, then it is likely that he slows down enough at the end so she can catch up!” She observed, to which both boys nodded.

“Either way, it’ll be cool!” Skull said, pumped up. He turned to Morgana. “Hey, Mona, we’ll be right behind them, right?” He asked excitedly.

The ~~cat~~ sighed. “Yes, we will.” He declared unenthusiastically. The troublemaker scratched his head, which made him meow happily, but quickly regain his composure and walk a few feet away.

“Come on, man. It’s fine! We have a lot of time to train Noir after this.” He said confidently, to which the newest member nodded. The wind-user sighed, but cheered up.

“Alright. I’ll trust your word.” He declared, looking towards the two racers. “It is an interesting competition, though… Now that I think about it, it is good training! And I bet Queen will be victorious!” He said, proud of himself as Skull rolled his eyes in annoyance, but without anger.

“Let’s go, you two!” Ann declared happily, raising her hand. Both leaders looked at each other.

“Good luck, Queen. May the best racer win.” Joker said, extending his hand to her. She nodded, took it and shook it.

“You stole the words right out of my mouth.” She declared confidently as both looked to the dark path ahead.

“Three…!” Panther shouted as both prepared their running poses.

“Two…!” Necronomicon shone a light in the path, allowing both racers to safely run through it. It was also a request from her Big Bro, to make sure Makoto wouldn’t be scared of the dark as they ran.

“One…!” Both took a deep breath.

“GO!!!” Ann shouted, quickly bringing her arm down as both Phantom Thieves quickly kicked off the ground beneath their feet, sprinting as fast as they could. Joker had a small advantage of a little under a meter over Queen. Both sharply turned to the right, which gave her a boost and left her side-by-side with her leader. They quickly looked at each other and smirked. They looked toward and saw part of the track was standing up from the ground, almost like a spike. If they ran around it, they’d lose speed, so both sped up to prepare for the jump.

They gathered speed and leaped as high as they could while continuing their forward motion, jumping over the rails and running as soon as their feet touched the ground. This was followed by a 180-degree turn that benefitted Ren, a small corridor and a 90-degree turn that benefitted Makoto. She was only one meter behind him, but he was already starting to tire. Both were running at a speed that they could steadily maintain, but the boy got greedy and decided to sprint faster. He did so at the wrong moment, as the path split into three. The correct way to the finish line was to the right, but he ran so fast that he overshot the path and had to make small hops to slow down, which made Queen quickly pass him by. He quickly regained his footing and started to run after her. He was already one and a half meter behind, so he had to make up for his loss. The good thing was that the rest of the race was in a straight line, so now, more than ever, it was a matter of pure speed. The problem was, he was already starting to get tired, while she looked fine. He slowed down for a bit. Two-meter distance. He saw her look back and smirk. That motivated him, but he already had a plan set that wouldn’t involve cheating. He was a gentleman, after all. Only losers cheat.

He waited until the goal was visible due to Oracle’s light. The moment he saw it, he ran as fast as his body could move him. In two seconds, he was only half a meter away from Queen. She looked back and gasped, but kept running, also increasing her speed. It did make it so he caught up a little slower to her, but he was catching up. Their friends behind them all looked with anticipation: who would win?

His max speed was quite high. Training at the gym, at home and in the Metaverse had paid-off after all. She was less than 20 cm away from her. Both were determined to win, as they were only five meters away from the goal. Both had the same idea and jumped as they crossed the line. Necronomicon let out a victory jingle as both contestants tumbled and nearly fell over in their tired state. Their friends came running and cheering.

“You both did great!” Panther complimented, helping Queen up. She looked really tired, so her friend offered her a Monta soda. Makoto took it and drank half of the can in one swoop. Skull and Joker were in a similar situation. While both laid down on the ground next to each other to rest, Oracle was waiting for Necronomicon to finish processing. She tapped away at the interior of her Persona in impatience.

“Is the analysis ready, Oracle?” Noir asked, curious about the Navi’s Persona. Necronomicon let out one of its tentacles and shook it as a ‘no’. “Well, I hope it goes well! I wonder who won…”

Joker was panting. “Honestly… I think Queen won.” He said, looking to his right to said girl. “You were more consistent and level-headed.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Yeah, you did almost crash into that wall, but you _are_ faster than me. I think you managed to pass me at the last jump.” She analyzed. “Either way, regardless of the result, I’m glad we had that race! It was fun.” She said, her chest quickly rising and depleting as she offered her hand. Ren smirked and shook it.

“Ah, it’s done!” Futaba exclaimed, making everyone focus on her Persona as she left its interior. “And the winner is…” She said, gesturing to her Persona as it made a holographic projection in the air, that showed the last frame of the leaders’ jump, along with a finish line. The holograph brightened up the image and zoomed in their most stretched out part at that moment: their hands. Both were extending their hands towards the goal, and…

“It’s a tie!” Panther declared, happily going over her friends on the ground and messing with their hair. They both chuckled as the team looked on in disbelief.

“No way! I was sure Queen was going to win…” Morgana mumbled aloud. Joker let out a small protest to his feline friend, but he wasn't hurt by his comment.

“Dude, Noir, you were on the nose! Nice!” Skull said, giving her a pat on the shoulder. She giggled.

“It was a thoroughly exhilarating test! My heart pounded as I saw the passion our leaders demonstrated in this test!” Yusuke commented as he framed the two between his fingers.

“I’m happy for both of you!” Noir commented, leaning towards her newfound friends. “However, is a tie good enough for both of you?” She asked innocently. Both smirked.

“Honestly, yeah.” The frizzy-haired boy said. “We’re both competitive. If we keep stretching this out and tying, we’ll keep doing this until next week.” He admitted as his crush nodded.

“I have to agree. We’re here to train, not to keep competing among ourselves.” The headband girl said happily. “Let us just rest for a few moments and we’ll continue training. We have to make the most out of José’s help.” She declared, closing her eyes and resting. Joker did the same.

After they were fully rested, the team continued on deeper into the path, fighting most Shadows along the way. All fights involved Noir as she got used to all of their team combinations and saw what she could do with her Persona talents.

After a while, however…

“Hey, Joker, can I just say somethin’?” Skull said from the back seat as the leader drove Mona. He replied with a “hm?”. “I know the training’s goin’ well right now, but I think Noir would learn more from sparring with us. Don’tcha think so?” He suggested, to which the Beauty Thief gasped.

“I’ve never had a sparring session before… it seems delightful! Could we _please_ arrange one, Leader?” She asked excitedly to the Trickster, who smirked (trying to hide his fear of the seemingly innocent girl). Panther, Skull, and Queen all felt a chill down their spines due to the tone of their new member. Joker nodded.

“Of course. Sparring sessions are always fun!” He declared, looking for a wide area. He found one circular area with a chest that contained outdated armor. He stopped and everyone left the van as it transformed back into its cat-like form. “Now, Noir, do you prefer to immediately try it out or would you rather see two of us sparring beforehand?” Ren asked. The girl stopped to think. That’s when an idea crossed her mind as she smirked.

“I would like to see Joker and Queen have a match.” She declared confidently, which made the whole team look at her with wide eyes. Both leaders let out a huge smirk. Both LOVED to spar with one another and took every opportunity to do so.

“Ooohhh, wanting to see the big guns already, huh?” Oracle commented before giving a light cackle. “I support it! I wanna see those crazy explosions!” She declared, sitting on the ground enthusiastically. The rest of the team agreed and sat down, except for the two who would demonstrate their training. Both looked at one another in happiness. They felt connected every time they did this. “You did well in choosing them. Their sparring is intense and awesome to watch!” Futaba whispered to Haru.

Queen bowed in respect to her opponent, fixed her Nekko and prepared her battle stance. _'One strong combatant ahead...'_

Joker gave her a bow, twirled his knife in his fingers and prepared his battle stance. _'Better watch out with this one!'_

Both stared each other down, preparing for the moment they would clash. Their team felt tense as they watched the two. Neither moved nor broke eye contact, yet there was no animosity. Only focus. Even the Personas, who weren't even out in the field, could feel the intensity of the moment.

Then, Queen charged at her leader with high speeds and tried to punch him with her right fist. He smirked, ducked under it and used his right arm to block her second incoming attack to the side of his head. He dropped his knife, grabbed it with his left hand and swung it towards her. She quickly dodged with a jump backward. He didn’t let up, throwing his knife to his right hand and dashing towards her. She dodged his swing with a quick hop to the right and kicked in the direction of his torso. He blocked it with both his arms protecting his front and grabbed her leg, throwing her to the side. She fell down to the ground with a hard thud, but quickly got up and smirked herself, her red eyes showing her determination. She dashed towards him with an open stance, ready to throw a punch. He, having a lot of experience in combat, ducked under her blow. However, he didn’t expect her to kick him in the chest as he dodged, making him gasp for air. Everyone gasped at that moment as Queen took a step back, except for the two as Joker laughed. “Nice one, Queen! You’re forcing me to bring out my big guns!” He declared, ripping his mask off and summoning Arsene, the Persona floating behind him. Before she could react, he ran towards her, so she guarded. He sidestepped behind her and snapped his fingers, making Arsene summon a pillar of Eiga beneath her feet. The twisted vortex of red and black surrounded the girl, focused on her torso and hit her full-force. She hunched over as Ren ran over and pointed his knife to her. She smirked and ripped her mask off. “Johanna!” She called out, jumping with a backflip as the motorbike Persona materialized and tried to run Joker over. He only managed to dodge because he held onto Arsene’s arms as the Persona used his wings to push himself back. She landed on the Persona and revved it up. Both Persona-users kept looking at each other, giving each other a couple of seconds of breather and a chance to analyze one another.

“Wow…” Noir said in awe. She knew both were powerful, but… she didn’t expect this level! She couldn’t even properly lift her axe, much less do stylish attacks like these two!

“Yeah! It’s pretty insane, ain’t it?” Skull commented, lightly jabbing her side. “It’s always so cool to see these two! It’s kinda like watching real-life anime!”

“I find both sooo badass!” Panther commented. “Their attires also give such a big _flair_ to everything they do!”

“They both masterfully execute each attack… it’s wonderful.” Fox added, framing the two. "And they're perfectly synchronized!"

“These two have only gotten better and better with each training session. I’m really proud of them!” Mona complimented, crossing his arms with a cocky smile.

“And they do all that just for sparring! God, I wish I could fight…” Oracle added with a small whine, but excitedly.

Both leaders heard the team’s comments and smiled. “We’re serving them quite the show. As always, you act strong and proud, Queen!” He complimented her. Her smile widened.

“And you’ve got the livelihood of your name, Joker. Shall we present to them an ending worthy of royalty?” She proposed, to which he proudly nodded.

Both charged at each other as fast as they could. Arsene summoned another vortex of darkness as Johanna summoned medium spheres of nuclear energy, as both dodged the attacks. Makoto jumped from her Persona and used the momentum to punch the ground with all of her strength, right where Ren was, as he backflipped and threw his knife towards her. It was going to hit her, but Johanna ran over and deflected it back to the boy, who had to grab it with perfect timing to not cut himself. Luckily, his Third Eye helped with that task. She ran to his direction, her Persona following suit. On instinct, Joker snapped his fingers and a small amount of darkness energy escaped them. This made the girl falter for a moment, as she had never seen the boy do that as he smirked. He himself didn’t know he was already at a point where he _could_ do it, but he did it at the perfect time. He ran towards the girl, but instead of attacking her, he jumped off Johanna as Arsene held her. Makoto looked to where he jumped and had to react quickly as he dive-bombed towards her, knife ready. She quickly grabbed his arm and used the momentum to spin him around and make him land on his feet as she put the spikes of her Nekko close to his throat. He, at the same moment, put his knife close to her throat. Both started panting as they looked at one another, their Personas de-materializing. Then, they smiled, lowered their weapons, intertwined their fingers, turned to their team and bowed. The Phantom Thieves started clapping and cheering, ecstatic at the training session of these two lovebirds. “I’m glad you enjoyed the show!” He declared with a grandiose tone, looking at his friends with a wide smile.

Unbeknownst to everyone there, Arsene and Johanna spoke with each other in a 'frozen time' of sorts. Ever since the two connected with one another back in Hawaii, they were able to talk privately to each other without their counterparts knowing about it in the sea of souls. They could still see the two, but to an outsider, it looked like 'frozen time'. They did so after the two bowed when their hands were still linked. _"Look at us. So close yet so far..."_ Arsene commented with some disdain, analyzing the two. Johanna let out a small giggle.

_"We're getting closer and closer by the moment. It shall only be a matter of time before they cannot hold it in any longer."_ The Nuclear Persona declared calmly, driving herself closer to the Darkness Persona. _"You shall see. It could happen anytime now."_

_"I do believe you-"_ The gentleman thief replied _"-however, I feel this great fear within the Trickster. A fear of hurting you."_ He sighed. _"I am afraid that would hinder his progress, and perhaps even halt him from developing this relationship beyond friendship."_ He explained, his wings seeming smaller, though the other Persona guessed it was because of his stance. She approached him and knocked him over, forcing him to sit on her pillion, an action that surprised the winged desire.

_"You seem to have a mission on your hands, then."_ She declared simply. If she could, she would be smiling. _"As do I. We should be able to help ourselves without directly revealing everything. As much as they are us, they still have their own minds."_ She reaffirmed, to which Arsene gave a chuckle.

_"Such is our reality. And I agree."_ He replied in his deep yet cocky voice. _"Then we have our mission. I shall keep my part of the deal."_

_"As will I."_ Johanna replied happily with her calm yet determined voice. They both let 'time start again' as they stayed within the vast sea. To the Phantom Thieves, there was no pause in time.

“That was incredible!” Noir exclaimed. “You two are amazing! Your reaction time, your moves, the way you two almost dance while training… it’s amazing!” She gushed, running up to the two. Makoto giggled.

“I hope this helps you in some way. It’s always important to know how to fight any type of opponent!” She told the newcomer, who listened intently to her fellow third-year. She also asked the team for some more info before deciding to spar with someone herself.

In the end, the team spent most of their afternoon training against one another: Ren went against his whole team, Makoto went up against Ren, Ryuji, Ann and Haru, while the fluffy-haired girl went up against Ren, Makoto, Yusuke and Morgana. They all had fun as they chatted, watched the fights and enjoyed each other’s presence. Haru, being the most observant of the team at the moment, noticed that Ren and Makoto always stood close to one another, and seemed to have a stronger connection. She smiled. Ren was a handsome young man, but Makoto was a beautiful young woman and an amazing person. _‘If they are to become a couple, they would have my full support!’_ She thought happily. She loved spending time with Mako-chan, and, while she didn't have much time to spend with Ren-kun (or the chance), she already knew based on the strength of the team that he was wonderful, as well.

They left Mementos later that afternoon and went to Leblanc to get a cup of coffee before heading home for the day. They all paid for their cups (despite Sojiro’s protests) and continued their chats, also including the coffee owner in the mix from time to time.

Overall, Haru felt extremely welcomed to the team, which made her happy beyond relief. They were her first true friends in many, many years. She was also seeing the beginning of a romance in that friend circle, which made her happy. _‘It looks like Mako-chan has already found her Prince Charming!’_ She thought happily, though with a tinge of… sadness? She couldn’t quite figure out why.

However, when she looked at everyone chatting in the welcoming space in Leblanc and saw the two team leaders chatting about their favorite coffee types and about a videogame with demons while dumbly smiling at each other every once in a while… She knew they were going to be together, sooner or later.

_‘I hope you two manage to sort this out, Ren-kun, Mako-chan! Even though I don't know you two that well, I can already tell: your bond will last forever and ever!’_


	4. I, Morgana, shall give you all a pleasant time!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is my work for ShuMako week day 4!  
> After the addition of Haru and the return of Morgana to the Phantom Thieves, the ex-advisor of the team feels quite guilty for the fight he had with Ryuji. As such, he wants to make up for the time he made the use to go after him with some fun games for everyone. He keeps noticing, however, that Ren and Makoto have been spending a lot of time together, which leads him to remember...

**Day 4 – Free Day**

**September 24th - 4:36 P.M.  
Shujin Academy – Third Floor – Student Council Room**

“Morgana, you don’t need to keep worrying like that! It’s fine!” Ren said to his feline friend in the Student Council Room. Makoto was with him, both sitting in the chairs, as the ~~cat~~ paced back and forth on top of the table.

“Of course I do! I worried you all with me and Ryuji’s dumb fight! I wanna make up for it!” Said wind-user replied, to which the nuclear-user shook her head.

“Morgana, you have already made up for it by sorting this out with Ryuji and realizing what you wanted to do. You don’t owe us anything.” She explained with a motherly tone, to which Ren nodded and pointed to her, but the ex-advisor still shook his head.

“Still, I wanted to do something for you two.” He looked at the boy. “You’ve been busy with all of your usual activities and keeping up with everything going around us.” He then turned to the girl. “And after Kobayakawa’s passing, you’ve been having to deal with a hectic atmosphere. I think you two deserve a day’s worth of rest.” He offered to the two, who looked at each other in confusion.

“But, Mona, we just came back from the Hawaii trip. Wouldn’t that be considered enough rest?” The team leader reasoned. The feline disagreed.

“Of course not! Right after you came back, you had to deal with your principal’s death, the students are restless, we’ve had our misunderstanding and now we have a new Palace to tackle! And you two have been keeping everyone on the right path, gone to Mementos to train, bought our supplies and planned new strategies with Haru, even showing off your amazing training together!” He explained, trying to stand on two paws to count on his “fingers”, but failing to do so. Both thanked him for complimenting them on regards to the sparring, her with shyness and him with confidence. “Of course, we will call everyone else, as they also deserve a chance to unwind. What do you think?” He asked, his ears twitching. Both leaders put their finger on their chin and started to think. They did it in-synch without realizing it, to which the black ~~cat~~ smiled internally. He knew what was going on between these two, and he was sure even they didn’t fully understand it. Well, he was sure Makoto didn’t fully understand her feelings. Ren was just too shy to admit his feelings to her. Besides, he knew the boy would only do so if it had some dramatic flair or emotional weight to it. He was dramatic, after all. After a few seconds, both nodded.

“Sounds good to me! When do you want us to call them?” Ren asked his feline friend.

“Today.” He replied simply, making both team leaders widen their eyes.

“What if they’re busy, though?” Makoto wondered worriedly.

“They’ll be free. You’ll see.” Morgana commented with confidence. Call it a hunch, but he somehow knew everyone would be free.

* * *

**5:03 P.M.  
Kichijoji – Jazz Jin Club Bar**

“Heh, I’m ready!” Ryuji said, punching his palm with determination. “Let’s go, Yusuke! Let’s give ‘em hell!” He declared, picking up a dart and throwing it at the dartboard, hitting it on number 13, between the triple ring and outer bullseye. “Nice!”

“That was only 13 points, though…” The blue-haired artist commented, preparing his own dart. He threw it and it landed on number 18, in the triple ring, granting him 54 points. “Hm! All according to plan!” He celebrated as the blonde gave him a high five. Their friends clapped.

“Nice! You two did pretty well!” Ren said proudly before smirking. “However, Makoto and I will prove to be a deadly combo!” She nodded with quiet determination, picking up two darts and handing one to her teammate.

“It’s not fair! I wanted to go with Ren!” Futaba whined, looking at Morgana.

“Hey, you know the rules. Rock, Paper, Scissors is the fairest way of dividing the teams.” He told the youngest member. “Besides, you lost and Haru’s still not here. We’ll do it again when this match’s over and you’ll be able to play.” He offered as she whined, but nodded. The ~~cat~~ looked to the two-man team. The Fool focused, preparing his shot as his teammates looked at him, wondering how well he’d throw the dart. He activated his Third Eye, took a deep breath, exhaled and threw it, hitting the bullseye.

* * *

**July 26 th – After School  
Kaneshiro’s Palace**

_The bullet critically hit Oni right between its eyes, knocking it down. As Joker smirked at his hit, he decided to make sure the High Pixies were dealt with used a Tarukaja on Queen, who quickly took out her gun. The Pixies, knowing what they were planning to do, tried to fly away in fear. “Skull, make sure the Oni’s still down! Fox, with me!” The leader commanded, running towards the fairies with his two teammates, attempting to keep them within Queen’s reach. Said team member closed her eyes and opened them again, focusing._

_She opened them and looked at the situation. The Chariot had his foot on top of the Oni, along with pointing his bat at its head, keeping it down. The Fool and the Emperor were blocking the Shadows’ path with Goemon and Eligor. She had to make sure her shot didn’t miss the Shadows. “Aim…” She muttered to herself, keeping her breathing steady and pointing her gun at the two. After two seconds, she shot the Pixie close to Fox and Goemon, knocking it down. She didn’t celebrate, however. She turned her gun to the one closest to Joker. It was spinning in circles around him. The Priestess quickly thought about using a nuclear attack, but it took a few moments to truly hit the target and, considering the Shadow’s speed and Joker’s positioning, her best bet would be a well-placed shot. She exhaled and shot. The bullet hit Eligor with a loud metallic sound, which made the user gasp and the girl to widen her eyes. She was worried she had just hurt her team leader. However, the sound startled the Shadow, so the girl, thinking quickly, shot again and hit its wing, finally knocking it down as her leader smirked at her, seemingly okay._ ‘I’m glad I managed to recover from this…’ _They all cornered the enemies, as they asked what they would do to them._

_“We can end this right now!” Queen suggested, to which Joker nodded. They all flipped back and jumped, as the area became bloodshot red and every object became a silhouette. The Shadows suddenly felt many small cuts and bruises coming from all sides in blinding speed._

_After the multitude of attacks seized, they saw the biker girl jump down on the ground in a superhero pose, before standing up and turning to her back, not looking at the enemies as their‘blood’ burst into the world._

**JUSTICE HAS PREVAILED**

_The team heard the Shadow’s final regrets as they earned their rewards of money, experience, and items. “Nice job, everyone!” Joker complimented the team. “Great job at holding the Oni down, Skull!” The blonde gave him a peace sign. “Fox, your idea of using your Persona to halt their movement was good! Let’s keep an eye out for any other uses for this in the future!” Fox graciously nodded. “You’re fitting in pretty well, Queen. Your aim was amazing this fight! And hitting Eligor with the bullet to startle the High Pixie was smart!”_

_She looked embarrassed at his compliment. “T-thank you, but I didn’t mean to hit your Persona… it was an accident. I’m sorry if I hurt you.” She said, looking to the ground._

_“Hey, no need to sulk!” Ren commented cheerfully. “Eligor is resistant to gunfire. It didn’t hurt that much, and it paid off in the end.” He continued, putting a hand on her shoulder. “What matters was your quick thinking that ended that battle. You were, and are being, really useful.” He affirmed, letting her shoulder go and walking towards Panther, who stood behind, tired from the exploring and the previous battle. Mona was close to Fox, now, looking at their spoils. The gray-eyed boy didn’t show it, but he was trying his hardest to not touch her shoulder spikes, as he knew that would hurt more than the bullet. The third-year exhaled, suddenly feeling much less tense and… happy. “Queen, could you come over here and help me with Panther?” The leader kindly asked of the advisor, who nodded and sprinted over to her friend’s side, seeing if she should use an item or her magic._

_Morgana was watching all of this with a keen eye while Yusuke’s eyes glowed from the money they got. He felt comfortable around Makoto, as he knew she was smart, but he didn’t just feel this level of comfort from his leader. He also felt… almost a form of adoration, like if Ren had… fallen in love with her. Or, at least, he was beginning to._

_He smiled. He could relate since he himself had his heart stolen by the beauty both team members were currently healing. He started to realize this ever since the girl was investigating them; the glasses boy was really lenient towards her, even when he should be more careful (though, when confronted about it, he said it was due to his gut feeling that she was a good person), he was reassuring that she was being useful with them and even reassured her through the text messages. The navigator knew he’d have to tone this down, or else she’d start to get annoyed with him, but he was pretty sure that his companion knew that, too. Maybe, in the future, she could get swept up by his feet, as both share an intimate moment of understanding and love…_

* * *

**September 24 th – 5:09 P.M.  
Kichijoji – Jazz Jin Club Bar**

The ~~tomcat~~ snapped out of his memory trip as he heard the voice of Haru sweetly call out to them, greeting everyone happily. Ryuji and Yusuke felt the sting of defeat by the hands of Ren and Makoto, who smiled and high-fived each other, similarly to a Baton Pass. Then both shook their friends’ hands and decided to divide everyone into two teams of three for the next round. Morgana smiled and laughed as the formation was the same, except that Futaba was on Ryuji and Yusuke’s team and Haru fell into Ren and Makoto’s team, much to the hacker’s annoyance and Team B's fear. They did not know if the fluffy-haired girl was good with darts, but considering she had to use a freaking grenade launcher, they had a hunch...

Morgana watched them all play happily and confirmed that the relationship between the team was as strong as it could get at the moment. The relationship between Ren and Makoto was nearly that of lovers, only they weren’t in a relationship. Morgana smiled as their team celebrated two consecutive bullseyes, much to the other team’s dismay. The ex-advisor knew that it was only a matter of motivation from both sides for this spark to become a fire, and he had a feeling both needed that fire in their lives right now.

_‘You two are absolute dorks, and I hope you get together soon enough. You both deserve one another.'_


	5. Come on over, Yusuke, Makoto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusuke and Makoto go over to Café Leblanc before the meeting scheduled with Haru to talk to Ren.  
> He notices a problem that she has and helps his friend with it.

**Day 5 – Coffee/Dinner Date/Cooking**

**September 18 th \- 5:32 P.M.  
Café Leblanc**

The team was to meet Haru tonight. She didn’t say why she wanted to gather everyone, but they knew it was serious. Because of this, the Trickster decided to spend his day in Leblanc. He got a text message from his crush saying that she wanted to arrive earlier since she was home alone and didn’t have much to do. He agreed and immediately got a text message from his artist, who asked if he could arrive earlier and taste some of his curry. He sent an “alright” and waited for the two, serving the old couple.

“Thank you for the food!” Yusuke said with a grateful tone, hands clasped together. Ren watched from the counter with a smile; Sojiro stood beside him, preparing some orders for other costumers. Makoto was sitting beside the artist, drinking some coffee. Morgana was sitting under the table, hearing his friends. When the blue-haired boy took a bite of his leader’s curry, he let out a gratifying sound. “This is incredible…! So many bold choices amounted into one masterfully executed meal…! Please, you must let me pay you for this!” He pleaded to his friend, not wanting to take advantage of his skills, but the leader shook his head.

“No chance. This is an artful gift for you. I will not be getting any money out of you from it!” He declared, crossing his arms seriously as the ice-user dropped his head, but continued eating happily and delicately. He knew he shouldn't be taking advantage of his friend's goodwill to feed him, but he wasn't in a financially stable situation at the moment. Someday, he would repay his friend for all the good he has done to him in the few months they knew each other. “Changing subjects, I decided to try out some new things with both of your orders. I’m glad you like yours, Yusuke.” He declared happily, who started paying more attention to the curry, then turned to his crush. “What about you, Makoto? Were you able to figure out which coffee bean I used this time?” This made the artist pay attention to his vice-leader. He was aware of the infatuation his leader had with her, possibly one of the reasons he allowed her to come over, aside from his good nature.

She closed her eyes and focused on the taste. “Hm… it has a nutty flavor… low acidity…” She commented, focusing purely on the coffee. “Is it… Cuban Crystal Mountain?” She asked, opening her eyes, but Ren shook his head with an apologetic smile. The ice-user smiled as well. The girl had been coming over quite a lot to Leblanc, even when Ren was not around. He knew she had that same infatuation.

“Almost! It’s the Mexican Altura.” He told her as she let out a small whine. “I understand why you mixed them up, though. Both have a nutty taste and low acidity. The main difference is that Cuban Crystal Mountain is more sweet, while Mexican Altura has a more savory aroma.” The gray-eyed boy told the girl as she took mental notes. She enjoyed these little coffee trivia moments they had together. The pretty boy was amazed at her knowledge of coffee. Even he, one who always took the opportunity to savor the drink, couldn't identify the individual beans.

“Impressive! You can deduce the coffee bean by its taste?” Yusuke commented surprisingly to the vice-leader. She sheepishly smiled at him.

“Yes, but it isn’t much of a talent, per se. Ren already knows how to do this better than I can, as can Boss.” She told the artist but heard a protest from behind the counter before the Kosei student was to say his own protest.

“Of course it is a talent! You’re just in the beginning phase of coffee appreciation.” Sojiro chimed in seriously. “Don’t bring yourself down like that. If you keep doing that, it could become a bad habit.” He told the girl seriously, then lightly elbowed his protected boy. “Make sure she doesn’t do that, got it?” He said sternly, to which the boy nodded.

“I already do, Boss. I told her that she has her own skills that are developing over time, like everyone else.” The darkness-user said, putting his hands on his hips and looking teasingly at his crush, who blushed and tried to look away. The other second-year decided to chime in as well, for both of his leaders' sake.

“I must agree. Rome wasn’t built in a day, Makoto, and neither are your talents.” The artist added seriously. “Instead of lowering yourself due to other people being better than you at something, try and take pride in the fact that you have your skills and that you can keep improving them. Beauty is something seemingly impossible to reach, but each and every day, I feel like I am but a step closer to finally finding it, and that is completely okay. All of us are heading towards beauty, but it will always take hardship and determination to truly find it.” He finished his impromptu speech. After two seconds of silence, the whole room clapped to his words, including Makoto, as the thin boy thanked everyone.

“If I wasn’t straight, I’d be kissing you now, Yusuke.” The Fool said, making the old couple laugh. He felt bolder because of the speech, and decided to risk a more… intimate compliment. “But he’s right, Makoto. I, honestly, don’t have anything to add to what he said. Just be proud of who you are. I know I am.” He finished, turning away to make some more coffee and curry. The ice-user gave a small chuckle and looked to the nuclear-user, who was as red as her own eyes, along with a big smile across her face. He understood the beauty Ren saw in this young woman. He himself felt big bursts of inspiration from her and his leader, especially when they interacted. She was a fierce person, with strong moments of determination and a sharp mind, but she didn’t give herself enough credit for her own merits, believing she should be doing better. Ren was always there to reassure her that what she did was enough, that her merit was of bigger importance than any of them could ever explain. They were all important for the Phantom Thieves to function; look at what happened when Morgana left. He knew, however, that his leader, as perfect as he looked, also had his fears. He also knew that it was more likely for him to share them with the one who stole his heart, first, and then share it with his team. While this frustrated him, he couldn’t blame his leader for being like this. If he were in his shoes, then maybe he would be doing the same thing. Regardless, he noticed the affection that these two gave each other and was sure that they would make an amazing couple. He returned to his curry when the gray-eyed boy came with two plates of curry and two cups of coffee. The coffee was for himself and the thin gray-eyed boy, and the plates were for the fit gray-eyed boy and the delicate, but fierce red-eyed girl. They all continued chatting as they ate and drank coffee, enjoying each other’s presence. Inari noticed that they kept discreetly glancing at each other in random intervals: during pauses, while drinking, among other moments. He smiled at their antics.

_‘You both are beautiful artists that are struggling to get closer due to your own heartbeats. I sincerely hope that Makoto is the Johanna to your Theo, Ren. Just, please, do not let her be a widow early in life if you do get together.’_


	6. You need to start being honest with yourself, Big Bro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is my work for ShuMako week day 6!  
> Futaba drags Makoto along to Leblanc to finish her playthrough of her game file. Ren is happy that his sister helped him convince his crush to come over, as both finish some council paperwork before the gameplay session.  
> However, the hacker girl notices how close the two are...

**Day 6 – Movies/Games/Video Games**

**October 1 st – 5:45 P.M.  
Café Leblanc - Ren’s Room**

“Come onnnnnn, you gotta finish it!” Futaba said to Makoto, handing her a PS3 controller. “Ren just told me you’re in mission 19! You’re so close to beating the game!”

The Priestess looked at the youngest of the group with a small worried smile. “A-as much as I’d love to, Futaba, I do have some Council documents to attend to. I need to finish them before I can have any distractions.” She explained, attempting to turn around, only to have her wrist grabbed by the gamer.

“Nah, you’re gonna finish this today, Miss Post-Apocalyptic Rider!” She declared with triumph, pulling the girl to the boy’s bed and forcing her to sit on it. The boy who owned said bed watched from the side with an amused smirk. He had just taken his sister to the school and Makoto went along for the ride. She did say she was gonna leave to take care of some things, but Futaba dragged her along to Café Leblanc to tell her what a Trash Mob was and to play some games. He couldn’t really complain about the girl’s decision, though… he was looking for chances to spend his time with Makoto, more and more. His mind felt... almost hazy while she was around... he knew he was madly in love with her.

“F-Futaba, I can’t…” The Priestess tried to protest until an idea popped into the Fool’s head.

“Wouldn’t this classify as a major council problem?” He asked the third-year, who looked at him, eyes wide. “I mean, I did promise to help you. If you’d like, we can finish this together while Futaba sets up the game. When we’re done, we finish it together.” He explained, looking to his crush and his sister, who nodded with a smirk. _‘Did she plan this from the start?’_ He thought, with a quick glance at the redhead and then looked at the brunette. ”What do you think?”

The third-year looked at her leader, at the youngest of the group and the paperwork neatly placed on the computer desk. Next to the TV stood the Playstation 3 turned on with the HD collection selected. She was hoping to finish all of the paperwork in the comfort of her home, but… she couldn’t deny that Ren’s help was always welcome. And… she did want to spend some time unwinding from everything that’s happened, though she knew she forced herself when it came to Council matters. Maybe she should talk to the other members, from time to time…

She shook her head and gave a small exhale. “I like the idea. Alright, let’s do this together, then!” The third-year said, sitting on the chair near the paperwork, beckoning Ren to come closer to help her. Unbeknownst to her, this made the boy… extremely attracted to her. The gesture wasn’t provocative, as she beckoned him with her whole hand, but damn, did it make him immediately go over there to help her.

Futaba watched the two from the side with a smirk. When she found out Ren was in love with Makoto, she felt sad. Maybe because she herself had a crush on the boy. After a while and some depression waves, she learned to spend time with Ren not as a potential soul mate or permanent romantic partner, but as a player 2; her brother. It took quite a long while, but with him receiving the same care for Sojiro she did, she started to feel like she was his sister more and more. She also made sure to start calling him Big Bro, so that her heart wouldn’t attempt anything funny regarding him.

Did it suck that she didn’t even have a chance to start with? Yeah! A whole heck of a lot! …but she couldn’t stay mad at him. She also loved Makoto dearly, seeing her almost like a mother figure, as she was the first one to protect her in her Palace from her own fears and insecurities. She saw the two team leaders get closer and closer, and while she envied that in the begging, she started to love these interactions as time passed. The idea of Ren and Makoto becoming a couple was starting to become something she herself wanted for her Big Bro. Maybe because she wanted two of the most important people in her life to be happy… and Ann too. The girl was an angel when it came to emotions, and if it wasn’t for her, Futaba was sure she’d have done something stupid and hurt these two amazing people.

She smirked as she prepared Devil May Cry. She opened Makoto's file in Mission 19, which meant she was only 4 missions away from finishing the game. The hacker smiled as she remembered getting this game a few years ago and playing it, trying to hide it from Sojiro. Ahh… good times. Although, now that she saw the two handling the paperwork together… she was sure today would count as a ‘good times’ in her book in the future. So, while she waited for the two to finish their stuff, she started playing with Morgana and checking up the news on social networks. Too bad there weren’t any more DLC characters coming to Smash… that always made the timeline explode with hype! She played with her phone until the two were done.

* * *

**6:27 P.M.**

The dyed redhead was nearly asleep on the couch in Ren’s room. Since she didn’t have much to do that day, time moved slowly for her. _Very slowly_. Her eyes were closing and opening every few seconds.

“Hey, Futaba?” Makoto called sweetly, unsure if the girl was already asleep. She replied with a small ‘hm’-like sound. “Oh, you’re awake. Sorry we took so long, but we’re done!” The third-year continued sweetly, petting the girl in the head, which made her feel very nice... and more sleepy...

“Hm… ‘z good… but… you gotta…” She mumbled, her eyes almost fully closed now. The red-eyed girl stopped her petting as to avoid making the hacker sleep. It was nearly time for dinner, after all. However, she saw that the girl had already fallen asleep since she was snoring. She turned to her best friend.

“Poor thing. She’s sleeping already. Should we bring her dinner for when she wakes up?” She suggested, making the boy think.

“Yeah. I don’t wanna wake her when she’s already comfy. Let’s have dinner ourselves and bring a plate for her.” He replied gently, gently removing the glasses off of the girl, placing them on the laptop table and heading down the stairs, the council president following suit. She looked back to the 15-year old, smiled and turned off the lights. She knew she needed her rest and didn't want to disturb it.

* * *

**?.?.?.**

“NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Futaba heard a gamer’s desperate tone suddenly, waking her up. Was that… Makoto’s voice? It sounded so high-pitched that-

“Makoto, quiet down or you’ll wake her up!” She heard Ren say with a hushed voice. Yep, it was Makoto after all. Now that was interesting! She hadn’t even opened her eyes yet and she felt excitement spawn within her! What could possibly be making her vice-leader, one of the most composed people she ever knew, scream like that?! Ohhhhhh, exciting!

She opened her eyes and saw a blurry mess. Of course they’d remove her big round glasses. She stood up and heard the sound of a pause menu. She looked to the side and saw two very well-formed blurry people, who were obviously Ren and Makoto. She saw the girl was holding something, the controller, she guessed with wide eyes (?), and saw the boy standing up, grabbing something and handing it to her. She took it and saw it was her glasses, so she put them on and suddenly the world was HD again! “Good evening!” The Fool said in his usual silly tone with that silky voice of his. Now, the girl could tell that he looked amused at the situation while the headband girl was wide-eyed and embarrassed.

“Evening! How’s your… *yawn* play session going?” The Hermit asked, trying to wake herself up. “Also, what time is it?”

“Good evening, Futaba!” The Priestess replied happily, her previous desperate tone gone, replaced by a quieter voice. “It’s… going… I guess that’s the best way to describe it? Sorry if I woke you up.” She explained apologetically. “Also, it’s…” She looked at her phone. “…8:34 P.M…. we’ve been playing for quite a while, Ren-kun.” She noticed, putting her phone away and standing up.

“Yeah, we have, but there’s only this mission and the next for you to worry about, and then you’ll have finished the game! You’re nearly there!” He insisted, looking at the girl pleadingly. Futaba decided to help her leader, as she wanted to see Makoto playing.

“Yeah, just stay until you’re finished! We’ll accompany you to the station later!” The hacker offered to her vice-leader, who pondered on the decision. She looked at her two friends, then at the controller, at the screen and thought a bit more. She was so close to finishing it, so why leave it for later?

“All right, I will.” She decided with a smile, sitting back down, which made the two siblings in consideration celebrate. She unpaused the game and nearly made Futaba scream: she was already going up against the first phase of Mundus!

“You’re already there?! OH MY GOD, THAT’S SO COOL!!!” The gamer exclaimed, quickly sitting beside her friend and looking at the gameplay with full focus. She didn’t expect the girl to beat the final phase of Nightmare and pass all of Hell while she was asleep!

“You wanna know what’s even cooler?” Ren chimed in, sitting beside his sister, who nodded in anticipation. “She beat Nelo Angelo in the fight against Nightmare to train. She used a few items, but she beat him for the challenge and to face her fear of spooky things in general!” He complimented the third-year, who blushed a little but kept her focus on the difficult fight.

The dyed redhead looked at the oldest member of the group with an open mouth. She didn’t even care that the girl had used items, she went for the honor route and she went in HARD. She also noted that the Priestess looked extremely focused, to the point where she and Ren were making comments that didn’t grant any reaction whatsoever from the headband girl.

The two kept commenting about her clumsy (due to her fear of the dark) yet determined gameplay as she eventually defeated Mundus, ran away from the destruction of the castle and defeated his second form, finally hitting the Jackpot. She nearly let out a war cry when Dante said Jackpot. She felt a strong fear throughout the whole game, due to its dark atmosphere and ambient music, but she felt the power of the character, growing more and more confident as the playthrough. She did a fist pump when the island blew up while Ren and Futaba both clapped, congratulating her on beating the game. She turned to the two.

“My heart is beating… I thought I was going to lose for a moment, there.” She admitted with pride.

“What?! You were kicking his ass after he kicked yours! It’s always like that in DMC!” Ren replied, to which the girl nodded with a small smirk.

“True. Still, you know the feeling.” Makoto replied with confidence, to which he smiled. “Either way…” She changed the subject, looking at her cell phone’s clock. “It’s already pretty late. I should be heading back.” She said, handing the controller to her best friend and standing up. He nodded, but the youngest girl knew he wanted to spend more time with her, as his head was lowered. When the third-year started to walk towards the stairs, she chimed in.

“Hey, why don’t you sleepover at my room?” Futaba suggested. “Tomorrow’s a free day, anyway. Not like you need to wake up early.” She reasoned, making the red-eyed girl smile and look towards her.

“As much as I like the idea, Futaba, I haven’t brought anything for a sleepover.” She replied with a motherly tone. “Besides, I have to take care of the house tomorrow and prepare for Monday.” She continued, which piqued the mauve-eyed girl’s interest.

“Ooh! What’re you gonna do Monday? Is it a sidequest? A main quest?” She asked excitedly, which made the council president giggle. She could finally understand what the girl meant with her gaming language. She looked at the gray-eyed boy, who nodded and walked over to their direction.

“We’re both going to try and help Makoto’s friend, Eiko.” He said seriously. “We believe she’s being fooled by her host boyfriend, so we’re going to the red-light district to check if he’s an honest person… though I personally doubt it.” He explained seriously as the hacker listened intently.

“Aw… okay, I get it. Main quest.” She concluded, looking at the couple in front of her. “Well, at least let us walk with you to the station. It would be rude to let a lady walk alone in the street at night, now wouldn’t it?” She said with a wink, looking at her brother.

“I was going to say that same thing. Let us accompany you, Queen.” He said smoothly, giving a small bow to her. He didn’t notice it due to his position, but she started to lightly blush with a small smile. Of course, the youngest noticed this and was contemplating on making fun of them, but she noticed something: she wanted them to be together. If she were to make fun of it… how would they react? Probably in a typical teen fashion. Hell, she wasn’t immune to it, why would they be? So, she decided to help them.

“Come on! Let’s go before the last train leaves!” She said excitedly, urging the two to hurry up.

* * *

**9:47 P.M.  
Shibuya Station**

“Well, here we are.” Ren announced, stepping into the station with the two girls by his side. Morgana didn’t want to come, so he stayed back in Leblanc. Futaba could notice that the boy didn’t want Makoto to leave, but he knew she had to.

“Yeah…” The third-year commented shyly, seemingly not wanting to say goodbye, as well. “I… I should get going.” She said, turning around to meet the eyes of her two friends. “Thank you for today. I think… I was in need of some free time. I really liked the game.”

“No problem!” The hacker replied happily. “If you wanna come over to play, just tell us that we’ll prepare a great game for you! Ooh, maybe you could play DMC 3 next!” She started, but Ren put a hand on her shoulder, interrupting a wave of ideas and excitement. He admired it, but knew right now wasn’t the time for it.

“What she said.” He added simply with a small smile. “I’m glad you enjoyed the game and persisted even though you were afraid. That takes guts.” He continued with a melancholic tone. She looked sheepish.

“I-it wasn’t that big of a deal… but… thank you anyway.” She thanked, grabbing the strap of her purse. “Well…” She said awkwardly, looking at the two. “…see you.” She finished, slowly turning around and walking to the platform. Futaba gave a small enthusiastic bye and looked at Ren. The boy took a step forward, but stopped. He gave a small sigh.

“Bye, Makoto!” He said happily with a wave. She turned around, smiled, gave her own wave and clumsily turned around. He gave another small sigh, but this time with a smile. A small one, but one nonetheless. They both saw the third-year leave. The gamer then looked at her brother with a smirk. He noticed. “What?” He asked as she gave a small cackle.

“Looks like Big Bro is in loooveeee…” She taunted, putting her hands behind her back. The second-year looked at her with wide eyes, knowing he couldn’t just say no. He let out a small groan and turned around. “Aww, you’re blushing! I bet that little step was to try and give her a little kiss!” She commented on the reason he turned, making him let out a small whimper. To add insult to injury, she even made a small kissing sound.

“C-come on… hitting a weak spot like that!” He whined, starting to walk out of the station, but not going too quickly so she could catch up to him. He was glad there wasn't anyone around at the moment. When she did reach him, she turned serious.

“You know that’s amazing, right?” The Hermit said with a happy tone but serious expression, looking at the calm streets that they lived in. “Makoto’s an amazing person. I completely understand why you fell for her. You’d make an amazing couple!” She continued honestly as her brother kept blushing. “If you keep blushing like that and not take action, I’m gonna have to keep bothering you until you tell her how you feel!” She threatened as they neared Leblanc.

“Okay, DON’T do that. Please.” The leader begged honestly but didn’t say anything else. He tried to enter the café since the door opened. It was Morgana, who asked Sojiro to open the door for him to leave. She stood in front of him, blocking his path as the ~~cat~~ stood by her side, curious about what was happening.

“Look at me.” She demanded, to which he complied. “I can’t promise you anything, Ren. It’s not good to keep these feelings bottled up like that. To keep fooling yourself into thinking they aren’t there. Because they are.” She explained seriously as he listened intently, but with a closed expression. “Listen, we may not know each other for a long time, but you’re important to me. And I’m telling you, what you’re doing right now… it isn’t healthy. Promise me you’ll at least think about it?” The dyed redhead asked, looking at her brother with concern and grabbing his arm. He took a deep breath.

“I promise. I just… really need to think for a while. Okay?” The frizzy-haired boy replied sincerely, running his hands through his hair. She nodded and let him go.

“Just don’t waste time. That’ll screw you over and leave you even more confused.” She finished, turning around and walking to her house, leaving a contemplative Ren in front of Leblanc. The ex-advisor accompanied the girl to her house. He spoke up when they entered the Sakura household.

“Was Ren confused about his feelings towards Makoto?” The feline asked, to which the girl replied with a ‘yep-yep’ as she went up the stairs to her room. He sighed, accompanying her. “This can’t keep going like this. He has to make something happen soon.”

“That’s what I told him. I don’t think he’s telling us everything, though.” She explained to the kitty, petting him on the head when they arrived in her room.

“What makes you think that?” He asked curiously, to which she looked at him with an ‘are you serious’ face.

“Hellllooooo. Semi-depressed person who hid her problems from the world here!” The hacker told him, to which he sheepishly nodded. “He gets too quiet on this subject and doesn’t directly talk about it with anyone. He doesn’t even acknowledge that he’s in love to us, which is really unhealthy.” She continued, sitting on her bed. “He’s afraid of something. That much I can tell. However, since he doesn’t tell us what it is, I can only hope that he finds out an answer soon enough.” She finished, looking out of her window. She took a quick peek at her laptop screen, went over to it and accessed the camera in Ren’s phone. She could see he was already in his pajamas, sitting on the bed and thinking. She sighed and made one final comment aloud:

“I hope you figure this out soon enough, Big Bro. You two make an amazing power couple that would kick everyone’s butts! Just try and notice that, please.”


	7. We think you need to hear this, Ren

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is my work for ShuMako week day 7! The final day!  
> Akechi went over to Leblanc to chat with Ren about small topics, among them the Phantom Thieves. When he touches on the subject of Sae, Ren's reaction is more... drastic than he could anticipate.  
> To make things even more interesting, two strangers decided to speak to them out of the blue... wait... is she...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> Just wanted to tell you that there are End Notes after the chapter's over, and they're LONG. Like, really long.  
> They tell a lot about my ideas for this Shumako week, my main fic, its connections to it and the future of my storyline. I ask you to take some time to read them as well.  
> Either way, on with the chapter!

**Day 7 – Wedding/Proposal**

**October 2 nd – 7:01 P.M.  
Café Leblanc**

Ren Amamiya had just come back from his afternoon activities with Futaba. He was pretty tired, due to the girl's antics and high-spirited nature. He got to Leblanc and was surprised, but happy to find Akechi in the booth. “Ah, hello.” The detective greeted. “I’m sorry for appearing without notice… I wanted to dine here since the menu’s so good.” He explained softly, to which the Fool smiled.

“Well, Sojiro is the best at what he does. He can activate your taste buds in a unique way.” He commented happily. “I’ll just put my bag upstairs and change and I’ll be right back.” He said, heading up the stairs and changing. When he was about to go down, however, he heard a small protest from his companion.

“Ren, don’t you have someone else to talk to? Are you really going to spend time with Akechi?” He asked incredulously, an action that made the boy turn to him.

“I'll still have time to talk to them soon. But… I wanna talk to him first.” He admitted in an almost regretful tone. “I know it won’t help much in regards to what I’m feeling right now… but I like spending time with him.” He finished heading down the stairs. His feline friend sighed. He didn’t know why his leader was so infatuated with Akechi, but he didn’t have a good feeling from this. That detective seemed suspicious. He accompanied the boy to keep an eye on his friend.

When Ren arrived downstairs, he sat beside the detective as the two began to talk. The pompous male costumer was there, along with a young couple, but not the one that came over from time to time. The man left during their conversation, but the couple stayed there, happily talking and laughing. The two teenagers mostly talked about the Phantom Thieves’ moves, speculation on social media and the police’s actions. “They aren’t finding much evidence, right?” Ren guessed, to which Akechi nodded.

“It is unfortunate. They keep trying to find a needle in a haystack, when, honestly, the chance of the needle actually existing is pretty slim.” The detective admitted, looking at his friend. “The worst part is Niijima-san. She focuses so much on this case that she isn’t going home; she just stays at work, trying to find anything to incriminate them. I feel bad for her, honestly.” The boy admitted, which made the second-year look down. The detective, obviously, noticed this. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I mention a sensitive subject?” He apologized, to which Ren waved his hand dismissively.

“No. Well... not for me, at least.” He admitted, taking a sip of coffee. This puzzled the reddish-brown eyed boy.

“I’m not sure if I follow, Ren-san.” He said gently. “If you don’t mind, could you please tell me what is bothering you?” He asked gently, turning to the boy. Sojiro, unbeknownst to them, listened intently from the counter. The boy sighed while the ~~cat~~ looked on edge.

“Well… Sae staying out so late is making Makoto worry about their relationship. They don’t talk much, which is making their bond weaker and weaker…” He explained simply before trailing off, not wanting to put his nose into Makoto’s matters.

“Oh. You’re worried about Makoto Niijima, then.” The detective noted, to which the boy nodded. “Well, I’m not sure if you can do much, in this case. This is their family business.” He reasoned, to which the second-year nodded grimly. “Although, if the Phantom Thieves were to be caught, it would make Niijima-san have a wealth of free time to spend with her sister…” He noted, taking a gentle sip of his coffee. This made the leader of the Phantom Thieves freeze. He noticed, at that moment, that his mere existence made Makoto’s relationship with her sister deteriorate. Of course, it was already deteriorating before them, but this… it made it stronger. It made her suffer more… and he couldn’t do anything about it. If he were to try and go for her… what would it do to her? Would more situations like this one suddenly appear? Would she suffer more? Would… would she be better off with him not being part of her life? Though… it was already too late for that. They were really close… what if- “R-Ren-san, you look pale.” Akechi commented with worry, to which the boy snapped out of his daze. He took quick breaths and tried to calm down, the detective placing a worried hand on his shoulder. Morgana nearly jumped on his lap, but he knew better. The wind-user knew hoped that something or someone came along to stop this. After a couple of minutes, he was back to normal, his detective friend and guardian worriedly eyeing him. “Are you feeling better now, Ren-san?” The Charismatic Detective asked worriedly, to which Ren slowly nodded.

“Y-yeah… it’s just… something clicked inside me…” He knew he had to lie at this moment. If he said it was because of the boy’s comment on the Phantom Thieves, he’d surely raise suspicion. Unless… “…I think it’s because of my criminal record. I-I’m not sure, though…” He admitted sincerely, hiding the true reason for his episode. The ex-advisor REALLY hoped that something broke these two up, quickly.

Suddenly, a man with silver hair put a hand on the Wildcard’s shoulder, gently turning the boy around to look at him. The man of the couple. That man was… really interesting. He must’ve entered during the Wildcard’s breakdown… he had silver bowl-shaped hair, gray eyes like Ren, a white shirt underneath a black jacket and blue jeans. He looked… wow. Ren didn’t know why, but he felt safe close to this man. He saw someone come close to them: a woman. She had long, straight, black hair held by a red hairband, dark brown eyes, a white shirt underneath a red jacket, and black jeans. She matched the man quite well, as she cupped Ren’s face and put her hand on his forehead. He noticed they both had a ring. So they were engaged. The moment Akechi looked at her, he gasped. “A-Amagi-san?! You’re here at café Leblanc?!” He exclaimed with shock, looking at the young woman with wide eyes. Sojiro and Ren looked at her curiously, but not with shock, but with curiosity. They heard that name before…

The woman giggled. “Sweetheart, you told me no one here would recognize us.” She said with a delicate tone, seeming… happy, instead of annoyed. The young man chuckled.

“What can I say? You’re so famous, everyone recognizes you everywhere.” He joked with confidence, putting his hand on her shoulder. “You have to admit that this is the quietest place we have found, though.” He continued with his calm voice, as she nodded.

“That’s true. I love the coffee here.” She turned to Sojiro. “Sakura-san, I have to congratulate you on this! It’s such a rich flavor! And your curry, too! I love it!” She said with an excited bow, as the man chuckled.

“I don’t have much to add. It’s perfect.” The man said, giving him a thumbs up with a wink as Sojiro waved his hand, flattered. Akechi was still looking at them, amazed. The man noticed this and chuckled. “Oh, right. We forgot to introduce ourselves!” He said bowing and smiling. “I’m Yu Narukami. Pleased to meet you!” He said, shaking the hands of everyone present. The woman giggled.

“You have already recognized me, but I’m Yukiko Amagi. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She said, also shaking everyone’s hands. "We're here on a business trip; a sponsor for the Amagi Inn here in Tokyo." She then looked at Ren with worry. “Are you okay? You seemed to be having a panic attack…”

He didn’t know how to react. There was a celebrity in the café and he didn’t recognize her! Yukiko Amagi, he heard that name back in his hometown! She was the owner of the Amagi Inn, the famous landmark of the small town of Inaba! “Y-yeah… I’m a bit better now.”

She giggled. “That’s good. We’ve had some friends who had some problems like that. I was ready to call an ambulance if needed!” Yukiko explained with a gentle tone as everyone looked at her with awe. The woman was confident! Akechi was still awe-struck. Until his phone rang, that is, and he looked at it.

“Oh, dear…” He said, locking it. “I’m so sorry, everyone, but I must be on my way.” He said apologetically, looking at the young couple in front of him. “I’m sorry for not saying much, Amagi-san, Narukami-san. I just… didn’t expect you two to appear here.”

Yu dismissively waved his hand. “Don’t sweat it. In fact, your reaction was one of the calmest ones we’ve had.” He said, walking over to the detective, offering his hand. “I hope you have a good day!” He said happily, as the boy took his hand and shook it, Yukiko and Ren coming over and doing the same. The detective left and the young couple, Sojiro and Ren all stayed behind in the café. The man then asked them if they wanted dessert, to which they nodded. The silver-haired man turned to the frizzy-haired boy. “Hey, want to join us? I wanted to talk to you.” He said gently, to which the boy nodded and set in front of the couple as they waited for his guardian. “I’m sorry if I’m butting into your life, but you had that panic attack when Akechi mentioned… Makoto Niijima, was it?” He asked, to which he nodded. “Again, sorry if I’m butting in, but you care about her a lot, don’t you?”

Ren sighed. Even a stranger could recognize it… “Yeah. I… I was worried about her…” He said apologetically, to which Yukiko looked confused.

“Why? Has something bad happened between the two of you?” She asked curiously, but the boy shook his head.

“Well, no. But… I’m afraid something bad could happen to her in the future if I stay close by.” He said, knowing that he’d have to elaborate on this. He took a deep breath and looked at the young couple in front of him. They looked different from normal people. Not just because of their understanding and want to help a boy they never met before, but also because… he felt something from them. Almost like they had a bond… which was impossible, but… it felt right. He decided to confide in them. He told them about Makoto Niijima (even showed them a picture he had of her), his thoughts on her and his criminal record.

Yukiko looked angry. “What the heck?! That man placed everything upon you?!” She exclaimed angrily, her gentle expression gone, replaced by one of fury.

Yu looked angry as well, but he was much calmer about this. “That is unacceptable. He twisted the truth so he would come out on top!” He said, his hands held together, his chin resting above them. Sojiro came over with their dessert and sighed.

“I told him that it wasn’t wise for him to stick his nose into two adult’s matters, regardless of what they were doing. In a sense, it was his fault as well that he got into this mess.” The man scolded the boy, who looked down. The long-haired woman made a sound of protest.

“I’m sorry, Sakura-san, but I have to disagree. Even if an adult came over to stop the situation, they would be met with a similar fate. The issue here is that the man who Ren-kun tried to stop has control over the police. Had it been a random person, they would have listened to both sides and that woman would not have lied.” She explained seriously, to which her fiancé nodded. They saw that Sojiro was angry at the conversation, so they decided to switch subjects before they could really anger the café owner.

“Either way, now I understand your fear: you’re afraid that your criminal record could affect your relationships with your friends, bring troubles and even create problems for someone related to a prosecutor, correct?” He said, to which the boy nodded. “I can’t say to you that it won’t bring anything bad to the table, because it definitely can.” He said seriously, looking the second-year in the eyes. “However, building a relationship isn’t about staying together and making risks vanish. The act of entering a relationship is a risk in it of itself.” He continued warmly, holding his fiancé’s hand as she ate a piece of her dessert, smiling goofily at him. He chuckled. “Let us tell you how we ended up together, and you’ll see what I mean.”

“Oh, oh, let me start!” Yukiko said happily, raising her hand excitedly, which made Yu laugh. “Eat your dessert, dear, and leave it to me!” She said confidently as she looked the Trickster in his eyes. “We were both second-years when we met. Yu was a transfer student, just like you, who came into town when a spree of murders started happening.” She started, to which Ren stopped to think, commenting that he heard about that somewhere before. “It was big news. Either way, his uncle’s a detective in the police force, and we were helping him investigate the murders from time to time. At the same time, I was also trying to figure out what to do with my life. I didn’t want to inherit the Inn, and was even planning on moving away once I finished High School.” She took a deep breath. “What I didn’t realize was that I loved being part of that Inn. I loved helping everyone, even though my cooking wasn’t great. They are my family, and I was always happy to be with them.” She continued, taking a bite of her dessert and cleaning her mouth with the napkin. “It was around… August, during summer vacation. We were hanging out quite a lot, and I noticed I had feelings for him.” She said warmly, holding his hand, as he squeezed it. Ren smiled at them. He could imagine himself and Makoto doing this. “We just finished dealing with some troublesome people who tried to ruin the Inn’s image. Yu helped me talk them off, which I couldn’t have done had I not met him earlier that year.” She said warmly, recalling the memory. “We went to the shrine for a prayer. I didn’t even notice that I blurted out that I wanted to become a woman worthy of him…” She said embarrassedly with red cheeks as the man laughed.

“That was her first risk. Had I not liked her back, this comment would have rubbed me in the wrong direction.” He commented, remembering the beauty of that small shrine in that sunny afternoon. “Because of her risk, I decided to risk it, too. She asked me why I hung out with her so much, and I told her that I liked her. It was my risk, at the moment.” He recollected, smiling at her. Ren looked confused. Yu chuckled. “At the time, another one of my friends had a crush on me, and she did not hide it. She was open about it with anyone, grabbing my arm, flirting with me in front of our other friends… she was bold.” He explained, which made the gray-eyed boy widen his eyes. “I liked that boldness and upbeat spirit, but… I didn’t feel the same way. And then came risk number three: we both had to tell her that we were together.”

“That was the biggest risk since we knew it would break her heart.” The long-haired woman said. “It took us almost three weeks to finally tell her. She nearly stopped talking to me, but after a while, our friendship became even stronger. I think it’s because she got a lot of things her way in life, so when something didn’t go that way for her, she didn’t know how to react.” She pondered but shook her head. “Regardless, there were many other risks involved: the state of our team, the murders, the fact that he had to leave after that school year… many, many more. The final risk we both took was deciding that we wanted to get married.” She continued, gently holding her ring. "We knew that it would be better if I married someone with a big name so that the Inn could become even more well-known, but we decided to do that by our own hands." She finished, taking the last bite out of her dessert. The silver-haired man chimed in.

“I know we talked a lot, but did this help you?” He asked the darkness-user. Said boy stopped to think. He could almost see the story happening in front of him as they told it. It was… beautiful.

“It did… I just… need to evaluate the situation I’m in.” He said seriously but then smiled at the two. “Sorry if I sound rude: I understand that risks are necessary, but your situation was different. I’m not sure if this criminal record over me will ever be lifted… which is why I’m so hesitant.” He explained, to which both nodded.

“We understand. However, if you let this fear of yours be your driving force, will you be able to do anything?” Yu Narukami asked, which made Ren freeze. The man stood up. “I hope this helped you, Ren. And do think about it with care, okay? I know you don’t wanna hurt Makoto Niijima.” He said warmly, putting a hand on his shoulder. Yukiko also stood up and put her hand on his shoulder.

“Trust me: if she likes you, she won’t care about your record; only for who you are. Be sure to at least propose on being her boyfriend, ok?” She finished gently, letting him go as he blushed. Both young adults paid for their food, thanked the service and left with a warm farewell to the boy and the man, putting their hoodies up so they wouldn’t be recognized as easily. As they walked to the station, Yukiko tugged on Yu’s arm. “Did you feel it, too?” She asked seriously, to which he nodded.

“Yeah. He seems like a Persona-user.” He said seriously, shaking his head. “This would explain some of the details he left out on the explanation of Makoto.” The long-haired woman sighed.

“Poor boy. He just needs a little push to be happier.” She analyzed as her fiancé nodded.

“Yeah. I feel like they have a strong bond, already. His friends will probably push him if he falters, as Yosuke and Kanji did back then.” He explained, to which the woman nodded.

“Do you want to do a prayer for him later?” She asked innocently, to which he nodded. The Narukami-Amagi couple entered the train and left for their hotel, keeping Ren and Makoto’s well-being in their minds. They felt their Personas, Izanagi and Amaterasu, both felt that the boy was the next Wildcard, and sent Arsene and Johanna a little of their energy through the Sea of Souls.

Said boy decided to stay in Leblanc and play some retro games. He couldn’t truly focus on them, as his mind kept returning to the couple who stood here mere moments ago. He felt connected to them like they were old friends. Their advice was also sound… should he take the risk? He lost in the game, deciding to change and go to bed. Before he did so, though, he looked at his gallery. So many good memories with his friends, all recorded in a small screen. He smiled at their dumb antics as he felt Morgana lie down on his belly. He petted his companion and kept looking at the pictures. He then found the ones in which Makoto was present. He lingered on those longer, especially the ones in the Hawaii trip. He spent time with everyone there: Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Kasumi… and yet Makoto was the most memorable part of the trip. He found their picture during the sunset. He couldn’t stop looking at her, finding every trace of her skin and face beautiful. The proposal didn't seem so much of a bad idea now as it did a few moments ago... argh, of course, his emotions would be like a roller coaster right now!

In the Niijima residence, Makoto was also getting ready for bed when she looked at her phone. She had an urge to open her photo gallery and search for a specific picture: the one they took when they went to Hawaii. Ren asked her to take a picture with him during the sunset, and the picture was stunning. But, most stunning was the boy himself. She looked at his features and found herself… staring. She couldn’t stop looking at him. Her heart started beating faster… She shook her head, locking her phone. She changed, brushed her teeth and lied down, ready to sleep, only to remember that she forgot to set her alarm. She grabbed her phone and set it, but couldn’t simply lock it. She went back to the picture. A strong desire filled her chest as she looked at Ren… she opened the messaging app and sent him a text.

* * *

**Makoto:** Hello, Ren-kun. Sorry for sending a text so late at night…

**Makoto:** I just wanted to confirm it… are we really going to the red-light district tomorrow? For our investigation, of course!

* * *

She put her phone away, blushing. Why did she text him so late at night?! What had gone over her mind to do this…? Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone jingle.

* * *

**Ren:** Hello, Makoto! It’s okay, I just finished the preparations for tomorrow, anyway.

**Ren:** Of course! We’ll go there right after school.

**Makoto:** Thank you so much, Ren-kun.

* * *

She then remembered an important detail and quickly typed it.

* * *

**Makoto:** Could you please, come to find me near the student council room? I just remembered that one of the members wanted to speak to me about something.

**Makoto:** I’ll make it quick so we can have the rest of the afternoon for our investigation.

**Ren:** Of course. See you at 4… 40 P.M.?

**Makoto:** That would be wonderful…

* * *

Both stopped sending messages. Why…? Did she not want the conversation to end…?

* * *

**Makoto:** W-well, uhm…

**Makoto:** Good night, Ren-kun.

**Ren:** Good night, Makoto.

**Ren:** Let us finish your friend's problems tomorrow, shall we?

**Makoto:** Yes. Let's do it!

* * *

With that, both went to sleep peacefully, not knowing that the next day would change their lives forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! This is the final prompt for Shumako Week 2020!  
> I'm so glad I managed to do all of them!  
> Now, some End Notes to clarify some things.  
> I wanted to celebrate this week with a lot of Shumako, but I wanted to do something that fit with the main storyline I'm building. So, I had the idea to make every day about one of the Phantom Thieves watching and wanting these two adorable dorks to get together soon.  
> It wasn't difficult to decide which day would have which thief, as the prompts fit with them really well. However, I wanted the two final chapters to have more impact than the other five because they directly lead to 'How can lies hurt so much?'. For that reason, I put some more time and thought into them, not that the others weren't important, but I wanted these two to be special, especially the ending.  
> I had the idea of introducing Yu and Yukiko in this chapter when I wrote Ren's panic attack. I know that Akechi wouldn't help him with romantic problems, and any information given to him could be used as cannon fire later down the line, so I had the idea of bringing both of them here.  
> Now, what does this all mean?  
> Well, this all means that everything that I wrote here fits with the main storyline I'm writing. It's all 'canon', if you could say that.  
> This also means that I'm going to go over every chapter I've written so far and adjust some writing, grammar and sentences so that everything fits together nicely. I won't change any major plotlines, but I will be making sure to smooth things out.  
> Which leads me to my final point: I have a general idea for how many more chapters will take before the story ends:  
> Around 4-5 chapters. That's how long it'll take before my main storyline about Ren and Makoto staying together ends.  
> I should also tell you all that, from now on, chapters will take longer to post, again. I need to get a job and college will start in a month, so my free time will be limited.
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading these dumb fanfictions! This was just something I posted back in 2018 for fun, and I love the support you all have given me. I hope you enjoyed these Shumako Week submissions, as well! To quote Dr. Strange, "We're in the Endgame, now."


End file.
